Pages

Tuesday, 21 March 2017

BEST OF CRIME with Cally Taylor

Welcome to my latest BEST OF CRIME feature, looking at crime writers' top picks, from their favourite author and fictional detective to their best writing tip.

Today I'm delighted to welcome

CALLY TAYLOR

to share her BEST OF CRIME...

... AUTHORS

My all-time
favourite crime novel isn’t actually by a crime author. It’s The Collector by
John Fowles who also wrote The French Lieutenant’s Woman. It’s a brilliantly
creepy novel about a young man who abducts a young art student and keeps her
locked up in his cellar. I found the power play between the two main characters
utterly fascinating and I thought the ending was superb. A more contemporary
author that I’m a huge fan of is Belinda Bauer. All novels are very different
from each other but they’re all brilliantly written and feature her trademark
black humour and wit. I particularly recommend Rubbernecker, Blacklands and The
Beautiful Dead.

... FILMS/MOVIES

I don’t think you
can beat The Silence of the Lambs as an example of a truly brilliant crime
film. The cast – Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster and Ted Levine – are at the top
of their game and the plot is faultless. Respect to the director Jonathan Demme
for turning an excellent book into an outstanding film.

... TV DRAMAS

Where to start? In
recent years we’ve been spoilt with top notch TV dramas, both here and across
the pond. Happy Valley, Luther, True Detective, Call of Duty, Broadchurch and
The Wire all jump into my head when I think about quality TV drama. Then
there’s the original Scandinavian broadcast of The Bridge which was utterly
brilliant. I binge watched the first three series over a couple of weeks and
was bereft when it ended. Saga Norén is an amazing character and I can’t wait
for series four to air.

... FICTIONAL KILLERS
I know Sophie
Hannah chose Dexter but I have to agree with her choice. Dexter is such an
unusual character. I love that he kills to the code that his father defined
(basically, bad guys). I also love how socially awkward he is and the touches
of dark humour. It’s rare to root for the killer but I was desperate for Dexter
to evade capture.

... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES
I’m a big fan of
the Sherlock home reboot on the BBC. I always used to see Sherlock Holmes as
very dry and dusty, a Victorian gentleman in a deerstalker, but Benedict
Cumberbatch (and the team of writers) have breathed new life into him and now
he appeals to a whole new audience.

... MURDER WEAPONS
Without giving too
much away there’s a fabulous scene at the end of Paula Daly’s book Keep Your Friend’s Close where a flaw in
the antagonist (only briefly mentioned at the beginning of the book) is used by
the main character to kill her off. I thought it was a ridiculously clever way
to kill someone off and actually said ‘bravo!’ when I read it. Brilliant.

... DEATH SCENES

I’m sure another
scene will jump into my dead the minute I finish this interview but right now
the most memorable death scene I can think of is Mrs Danvers dying in a fire,
with burning wood falling all around her in Rebecca
by Daphne du Maurier.

... BLOGS/WEBSITES
I’m a big fan of
Google Earth and Street Maps when it comes to researching my novels. As a
non-driver I can nip across Bristol, or the country, to check out a location
for one of my books. I also read a lot of articles online about abnormal
psychology and use YouTube to watch old documentaries.

... WRITING TIPS

I always start my novels this way – I think about what my
main character wants more than anything else in the world then I throw
obstacles in her way to stop her from achieving it. I also give her a character
flaw that makes it harder for her to obtain her goal. I’ve been told I’m a very
‘pacy’ writer and that’s because I’m easily bored. I don’t particularly enjoy
writing descriptive passages and prefer to focus on action and dialogue. In the
words of Elmore Leonard I ‘try to leave out all the parts that readers skip’. I
think that’s good advice for any writer.

About CALLY TAYLOR

C.L. Taylor
is the Sunday Times bestselling author of psychological thrillers THE MISSING,
THE LIE and THE ACCIDENT.

No comments:

About Me

I am a freelance health journalist/editor with over 25 years’ experience of writing for, and editing, magazines and websites. I also proofread fiction. I am Freelance Health Editor for Bupa and write monthly about consumer health for community pharmacy magazines. I am on the LoveReading Editorial Experts Panel, reviewing non-fiction and audiobooks. In my spare time, I love reading fiction (especially crime). I launched this website to share my recommendations. When I am not working or reading, you will find me on Twitter. My health book, Allergies: A Parents’ Guide, was published in 2009. I updated the bestselling baby care book Your Baby Week by Week by Dr Caroline Fertleman & Simone Cave (published by Ebury - update out in June 2018). I am currently writing my own crime fiction novel.